Data Architect

On behalf of DWP, we are looking for a Senior Data Architect for a 12 month (Inside IR35) contract based Hybrid in either Leeds, Manchester or Newcastle.

As a Senior Data Architect within Working Age Services, you will provide strategic data architecture leadership for the New Style Modernisation Programme. You will design and govern data architectures that support the effective management, integration and reuse of data across services and systems, ensuring data remains a trusted and valuable organisational asset.

Working closely with business stakeholders, architects, engineers and delivery teams, you will develop data models, metadata standards and governance frameworks that support programme outcomes. You will provide expert guidance on complex data challenges, promote good architectural practice, and ensure solutions align with departmental standards, technology strategy and government best practice.

You will also help shape future data capabilities within Working Age Services, supporting service transformation through modern data architecture approaches, including cloud-native and event-driven patterns, while enabling successful delivery of New Style Modernisation objectives.

As a Senior Data Architect, your main responsibilities will be to: . Design data models and metadata systems. . Help lead data architects to interpret organisational needs. . Provide oversight and guidance to data architects who are designing and producing data artefacts. . Design and support the management of data dictionaries. . Ensure teams adhere to organisational data architecture standards. . Collaborate with Technical Architects to ensure systems align with the target data architecture.

Experience in Data Architecture design, modelling techniques, patterns, tools and standards. . Experience presenting data architecture design to technical governance forums. . Strong experience in Data Modelling, Master Data Management (MDM), Metadata Management and Data Governance. . Experience with event driven architecture patterns, including Pub/Sub and data streaming. . Knowledge of public cloud technologies and architecture patterns across AWS, Azure or GCP. . Experience working in Agile delivery environments. . Strong stakeholder management, communication and influencing skills.

Desirable: . Experience supporting large scale service transformation or Legacy modernisation programmes. . Experience working across complex multi domain data landscapes and data flows.

Please be aware that this role can only be worked within the UK and not Overseas.

Disability Confident

As a member of the Disability Confident Scheme, DWP guarantees to interview all candidates who have a disability and who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of candidates who have a disability who meet all the essential criteria, we will interview the best candidates from within that group. This scheme encourages candidates with a disability and/or neurodivergence to apply. In exceptional circumstances, we may also need to apply the desirable criteria in our shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.